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Dracut mailings fan flames on override (VIDEO)

By John Collins, jcollins@lowellsun.com

Updated:
08/24/2013 07:37:23 AM EDT

DRACUT -- It may add to the concern of the "concerned Dracut resident" who sent letters last week to residents displaying "Vote no on $2.9 million override" signs in their yards to learn what homeowner Sheila Gerlach did after opening the envelope addressed to her.

Gerlach said she read a portion of the four-page letter advocating for a "yes" vote on the override, placed it back in the envelope, tore the package in half once, then tossed it in a recycling bin.

"It only reinforced my vote," Gerlach said of the mystery mailing. "I felt like writing a letter back to them. They want to hire 27 teachers, for what? I sent my kids to private school. If you want to give your kids a better education, send them to private school.

This anonymous letter sent to Sheila Gerlach's Lakeview Avenue home asked her to reconsider her lawn sign opposing the proposed $2.9 million override for Dracut's public schools. The return address is fictional. SUN / JOHN COLLINS

The anonymous mailing that was addressed to Gerlach's Lakeview Avenue home was postmarked in Boston on Aug. 17, and had a return-mail address of "55 Cross St., Dracut" on a sticker affixed to the upper left corner. A Sun reporter who tried to locate 55 Cross St. on Monday found no such address, with Cross Street ending at house No. 45.

Similarly, Shawn Ashe, editor of dracutforum.net, reported another homeowner with a lawn sign opposing the override received the same mailing in an envelope that had a nonexistent return address of 1734 Lakeview Ave., also not found in the town properties database.

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"In terms of this one letter, the homeowner actually said that because it was anonymous and not even mailed from Dracut -- the return address is fake, and the letter was mailed from Boston -- they ignored the information included," Ashe wrote on his website. "I haven't seen this type of effort in past campaigns, so will watch to see the impact."

Included in the unsigned mailing was a two-page fact sheet authored by the school parent-led, pro-override group Stand Up for Dracut, plus a homemade chart showing that Dracut's property-tax rate, $13.79 per thousand dollars of property valuation, is lower than 18 other cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley.

Stand Up for Dracut media coordinator Michele Green said whoever sent the letters to the homeowners with "vote no" signs acted completely on their own, without her group's knowledge.

"There's no way to control everyone's actions, but I can tell you that (mailing) was not sent out by us," said Green. "I've never experienced anything like the things that have been happening in this campaign. It's been crazy.

"We put our information out there online for anyone to look at or download," added Green. "We can't control whether that information is being used for well-meaning or nefarious purposes."

Green shared that Stand Up for Dracut completed a printing this week of 4,000 copies of their two-page "Facts & Information" handouts, which the group plans to distribute around town between now and the Sept. 9 election. More key facts and figures can also be found on Stand Up for Dracut's Facebook page, she said.

Ted Kosiavelon, founder of the Committee for No Override, said the anonymous mailings show "desperation" on the part of the override's supporters.

Resident Rich Cowan, who edits the Dracut Action for Education blog on Facebook, suspects the letter was sent by someone opposed to the $2.9 million override whose intent was to make override supporters appear arrogant.

"When this allegation came out, we did not even waste our time responding to it because it was obviously a smear tactic," said Cowan. "Our argument is that school spending has been decimated by $2.2 million in cuts. People are free to vote however they want. However, if we leave the schools without Internet access, or supplies, or disciplinary staff, all the great teachers will leave for neighboring districts that have these things."

Selectmen scheduled the special election for Monday, Sept. 9, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. to vote on two Proposition 2 1/2 override ballot questions, including a $200,000 boost to split among the police, fire and public-works departments. Dracut residents of voting age wishing to cast an absentee ballot in the special election may pick one up at Town Hall during business hours through Sept. 6.

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